Rapper Ne-Yo released a video statement Monday afternoon appearing to walk back a written apology that was posted earlier in the day to his Twitter account in response to controversy that he sparked late last week when he called out parents that let their children choose their genders.
“All right, listen, I normally don’t give too much of a damn about what y’all think about what I do, what y’all have to say about what I say, whatever,” he began. “I normally don’t care because like I said, opinions ain’t special. Everybody got one. However, this is something I feel very strongly on. And I need y’all to hear this from the horse’s mouth, not the publicist’s computer.”
“So, check this out. First and foremost, I did not apologize for having an opinion on this matter,” he said. “I’m a 43 year old heterosexual man raising five boys and two girls, okay? That’s my reality. Now, if my opinion offended somebody, yeah, sure. I apologize for you being offended because that wasn’t my intention. My intention is never to offend anybody. However, I’m entitled to feel how I feel. I’m absolutely entitled to feel how I feel the same way you are entitled to feel how you feel.”
“I ain’t asked nobody to follow me, I ain’t asked nobody to agree with me,” he continued. “I was asked a question and I answered the damn question, okay? I have no beef with the LBGTQIA+ community whatsoever. I got no beef with y’all, do whatever the hell it is you want to do. Do what you want to do with your kids. However, somebody asked my opinion on this matter, and this is how I feel, I will never be okay with allowing a child to make a decision that detrimental to their life. I will never be okay with that.”
Ne-Yo said that while he plans to educate himself more on the matter he does not believe that “there’s any book anywhere or any opinion that somebody is gonna tell me that’s gonna make me okay with letting a child make a decision like that.”
“And that’s how I feel. If I get canceled for this, then you know what, maybe this is a world where they don’t need a Ne-Yo no more,” he said. “And I ain’t got no problem with that. I’m a hustler, all right, and I’ll figure it out. I got kids to raise and I’m gonna do that regardless.”
WATCH:
BREAKING: @NeYoCompound defends his statements on transitioning children. “I will never be okay with allowing a child to make a decision that detrimental to their life.” pic.twitter.com/1VW2vMgEcE
— Amala Ekpunobi (@amalaekpunobi) August 7, 2023